Could ‘Cars 4’ Replace Lightning McQueen In The Driver’s Seat? [Interview]
During my conversation withCars 3directorBrian Feelast week, I brought up the question of anotherCarsfilm. If this movie is a hit and they decide to make a fourth installment, couldOwen Wilson’s Lightning McQeen take a back seat (pun intended) while another character becomes the focal point of the series? Here’s what the filmmaker said about the possibility of aCars 4.
To set this up, I need to delve into somespoilersforCars 3, so if you haven’t seen the movie, you may want to come back later.
The film ends with Lightning McQueen deciding to retire and become the pit chief forCristela Alonzo’s Cruz Ramirez, his former trainer who becomes a racer in her own right. Would a fourth Cars film focus on Cruz Ramirez with McQueen in her corner? That’s somethingwe proposed as a possibilityafter Ethan Anderton’s press day at Pixar Animation earlier this year, so I asked Brian Fee this question and he gave me a very Pixar-ish answer:
I think there could [be a different character as the star] if it feels right. I mean, I think never say never. And I think you may make a good movie about anything if you have, if the audience can connect. Right, I think that’s what it boils down to. Can the audience relate to the story?
Following the sports movie tropes, I could easily see McQueen being “pulled out of retirement” for one last race. But let’s imagine aCars 4where that doesn’t happen. Would it follow the rising career of McQueen’s protege? Or could it return to Radiator Springs and focus on a story off the racetrack with Mater and all the gang?Cars 3is a good conclusion for the franchise, but so wasToy Story 3and Pixar is currently hard at work on the fourth installment of that series. If theCarstoys continue to sell as well as they have, there is a big chance we’ll see aCars 4.
